Above and Beyond
by UchihaVamprincess
Summary: Once bitten, twice shy. But will she see that love is patient, love is kind? Sasusaku.
1. Hollow

**Summary: **_**Once bitten, twice shy. **_**But will she see that **_**love is patient, love is kind? **_**Sasusaku.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

_**Italics:**_** Lyrics, narration and flashbacks.**

**Author's note: love the cliqueness!! xD**

* * *

**Above and Beyond**

**Chapter One**

**Hollow**

It was pretty.

It was shiny.

It was lovely.

"Sakura, this was supposed to be yours."

_There are no words I can say to you_

"Supposed to be?"

_To show you just how I feel_

"Yeah."

I diverted my eyes from it. To his beautiful face. Yet, I couldn't see it. My vision was blurry,

"I don't understand."

His voice was tight and his next words were forced,

"It's not yours."

_I love you so_

It felt like someone just ripped my heart out and stabbed it a hundred times over,

"Who's i-is- is it then?"

He inhaled,

"It's Yuki's."

_How much you'll never know_

I gasped,

"Yuki?"

He closed the black box and the ring was out of my sight,

"My father arranged a marriage to a bigger company. He said Haruno Corp wasn't a good choice."

I narrowed my eyes, now angry,

"What are you talking about?!"

_There's not a day I don't think of you_

A finger wiped a tear away from under my eye,

"Your family's company isn't one of the top ten. I have no choice Sakura."

My voice strained,

"No choice?! The difference of the companies isn't that significant is it?"

An intake of breath,

"Merging with the Daidouji company will be much better for the Yamazaki name."

_Why did it have to end this way?_

"So that's it huh? Your status is what's important to you."

I was pulled into an embrace,

"Sakura, I love you. I'm so sorry."

I couldn't hold it any longer. My sobs came out loud and I hugged his form even tighter,

"I love you so much Sai-kun."

We stood there in each other's arms, through the New Year fireworks as I cried away my sorrow,

"I'm sorry."

_I'm so hollow, so hollow_

* * *

"Sakura! Sakura! What is going on!??"

My hands grabbed anything in sight and shoved them into my luggage.

_Haruno Sakura. 17yrs old._

"Haruno Sakura!! Stop and tell me what is going on!!"

Again I ignored her voice. I didn't want to stay here any longer.

_Lived in America for the last 12 years in this Japanese speaking town._

"Haruno Sakura!! I am your mother!! Explain to me what you are doing!!"

My mum grabbed my arms to hold me still. I let out an exasperated shriek and I broke down into tears for the second time that night. My mum sighed and held my face in her hands, speaking in a soft voice,

"Sakura, what happened?"

_Just a few moments ago, my life fucked._

"Mu-hic-m! His going to get en-g-gaged-hic-!"

"What!!?" she was shocked.

"I-it's going t-to be–hic- an arr-hic-anged marriage –hic-."

_It was like a menstrual mood swing. One second I thought I was living a fantasy, next, I was sent back to reality._

"Oh Sakura!"

She pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm leav-hic-ing m-mum. Tonight."

My mum instantly let go of me and put her hands on her hips.

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

_Reality still hadn't sunk in yet._

"Yes. –Sniff- I need to get away from here. –sniff- start a new year. New people. New school. New home."

She exhaled,

"You're going alone?"

"My personal maid, Yoko, will be coming. She's already arranged a private plane for us to Japan. We'll be leaving for Japan in three hours."

_My true love/first and last best friend chose his reputation over me._

"Have you enrolled to a high school?"

"Yes mum. Yoko's organized it"

"Konoha? Will you be staying in our old house?"

"Yep. You guessed right. I'll need the keys please."

_I feel like I've been caught in a rip, being dragged away to sea._

Mum called in a servant to get the keys.

"You're sure about this Sakura?"

My eyes felt watery again.

"I'll come back when- when I let him go."

"He was your best friend, wasn't he?"

I couldn't say anything more and just nodded. My mum handed me the keys and we hugged one last time outside the limo.

"Stay safe."

"I will mum. Tell Dad and Toya-nii-san i'm sorry I couldn't say bye to them. Sayonara. Aishiteru!"

* * *

"_Hahahha. Sai-kun, you're so silly. You're hideous now. Hahahaha."_

"_What did you say!?"_

"_No, no no no. AH!"_

_SPLASH!_

_We were both in the muddy water now._

"_Sai-kuuun! Look at my dress!"_

"_That's what you deserve babe. Hehe."_

"_Hmmph-"_

"UHHHH!" I groaned, shaking my head as if to rid the memories.

_Feel so alone_

"Sakura-san? Are you okay?" questioned a soft voice.

I turned my head to my personal maid sitting next to me. She was staring at me worried.

"Mm. Don't worry about me Yoko."

_There's an emptiness inside as life goes on_

"Are you sure?"

I inhaled and exhaled, "yes Yoko, I'm sure."

We were currently on the plane heading for Japan. I'd been crying for the last couple of hours, trying to sort out all my thoughts. I just couldn't stop thinking about him.

_Wish I had more time_

"Sakura-san. Would you like something to drink?"

I thought it over. "I'd like the strongest beer you've got."

Yoko shifted uncomfortably before she stood up to request one.

Yes, I have a drinking problem but I really need something to help me forget everything. I don't mind being drunk because Sai would always be there to...

"UGHH!"

_One more chance to hold you tight and say goodbye_

This was so aggravating. Trying to forget him.

"Here you go Sakura-san." Yoko handed me the beer.

"Arigato Yoko, except can you get a few more? You know I drink a lot."

_I'm so hollow, so hollow_

Yoko sighed and went to get some more. I took a big sip from the bottle and looked out the window. Obviously, there was nothing to see but darkness. My eyes became blurry once more, darkness, like the emptiness in my heart now. I sat up in my reclined chair, bringing my knees up and hugging a pillow tightly. For the billionth time that day, I cried into the pillow. I felt a hand rub my back.

"Yoko, it's okay. Go get some sleep. I wanna be alone."

She did as she was told and soon I was alone.

_Hollow in my heart, hollow in my soul_

I drank more of the beer and continued sobbing. I was still quite sober and I thought about why it hurt so much. The truth was because I was truly in love. We both were. He was my best friend ever since we were children. As we grew older, we fell in love.

Love was a stupid thing.

After a while, my first beer was empty. I was onto my second one. I wasn't sure if it was because of the alcohol but my miserable tears soon turned into angry, frustrated ones.

_Cause I'm so hollow with sorrow_

This would have never happened if there was never a thing called love. We would have just stayed best friends and never be apart. Sai was my first boyfriend, my only boyfriend. Together, for three years. Then that jerk threw our relationship away for his stupid status. He was a stupid, overly-rich, company successor.

My sobbing must have gotten really bad because Yoko came over to see if I was okay. Too much beer took over and soon, I collapsed from exhaustion.

_Hollow in my heart cause now you're gone_

* * *

The first sign that told me I was still alive was the throbbing in my head. It was painful actually. Stupid hangover. I sat up holding my head. Yoko held out a bottle of water and medicine.

"Hangover?" she guessed it right. "We'll be in Japan in an hour and a half. You should eat something first though."

I nodded.

Japan, where I originated from. Once we get there, I'd have to buy school uniform and books. The beginning of year twelve. A stressful year. Groan.

"Here you are Sakura-san, your food."

"Arigato."

As I ate, I pondered about what I was going to do after year twelve. Go back to America? I decided not to think about.

The plane soon landed at the airport.

Welcome to Japan, Konoha and a new life.

* * *

**So should I continue it or not?**

**The lyrics were from the songs 'Hollow' and 'Sukiyaki' by Trish Thuy Trang.**

**The quote 'I feel like I've been caught in a rip, being dragged away to sea' is from 'Corpse Bride.'**

**Please review, and thank you for reading****!**

**--UchihaVamprincess--**


	2. Lies

**Hi again! Thank you to all my reviewers! I really appreciate your support=) Well I know that I updated really late but it's because I was waiting until the holidays to continue my fanfic. Sorry. But I promise that I will update much quicker now. I apologize if you needed to read the first chapter again to refresh your memory.**

**Note: I don't know how the Japanese school year and system works so I'll be using the Australian school year and system. I hope it doesn't confuse you. If you want me to explain it, tell me in your review. I'll give you guys an explanation.**

_**Italics:**_** Lyrics, narration/thoughts and flashbacks.**

* * *

**Above and Beyond**

**Chapter Two**

**Lies**

* * *

_I'm feeling sad and blue_

_You went away _

_Now my life is just a rainy day_

* * *

"_Saaakuuuraaa…………..wakey wakey now……"_

"_Ughhhhh……….hangover…………."_

"_Sigh…Wake up. We gotta go to school."_

"…"

"_Don't tempt me."_

"…"

"_Okay then." His lips touched mine as his hands slowly moved to the buttons on my pyjama top._

_One of my eyes peeked open. He wouldn't dare._

_In a fast movement his hand undid one button…..two….three…f-_

"_OKAY OKAY I'M UP!"_

_His beautiful laugh filled my ears._

"_I'll get you some aspirin for that hangover and-" Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

_What the hell?_

My eyelids pulled back and I literally jumped up from my lying position. I looked at the alarm clock beside me. Oh right, the alarm clock. I groaned angrily. I've been constantly dreaming about Sai for the last few weeks. The memories just wouldn't fade. Well, I wouldn't blame them not disappearing. For the last four weeks were pretty dull. In Japan, (**AN: remember, I'm describing an Australian School Year) **the school year starts six weeks after the last year ends, which means a school year ends two weeks before New Year. Yep, pretty confusing.

Well, hopefully my heartache will go away with distractions. Wow, that sounded very cheesy. School starts today bringing with it new teachers, people and friends. Pretty exciting, huh? All my books and uniform have been organised and Konoha High is just a 15min drive from my house. Yes, we do have to wear uniform to school in Japan. The senior uniform consists of a white blouse, grey pleated skirt and a red tie but I wore the tie like a loose necklace. I'm not fond of them.

The house that I was currently living in, was the house I grew up in since I was born. We had moved to America before I started Kindergarten so I actually don't remember the house well. It was big, not as big as my American house but for Japan's standards it was a pretty big mansion. When I had arrived to Japan, and first stepped into this dwelling, it worried me that I was going to be bored outta my wits. The mansion was dusty and empty, very empty. I was quite glad that Yoko was such a great personal maid because she right away recruited several more servants to clean up the mansion and serve me for the time I was going to stay in Japan. Which is, I don't know how long. The following week was the most tiring of all. My family in America, my mum mostly, ordered for me a car, a shiny silver Porsche, telephone connections, internet connections and electricity to be activated. As soon as that was all up, I right away went to decorating the mansion. I ordered heaps of furniture for my bedroom and the other essential rooms of the mansion. I admit, it was fun at first but then I got sick of it, waking up everyday to movers asking me where I want the sofa or table to be put. But now, the house is well furnished and I just need to worry about school and the year 12 exam at the end of the year.

"BYE YOKO! THANKS FOR BREAKFAST!" I called as I quickly walked out of the house to my car. First day of school and I may already be late. To my surprise, there was not a lot of rush hour traffic, well compared to America. Then I smacked my forehead, I had panicked for nothing, I forgot that the traffic in Japan wasn't as busy as in America.

At a traffic light, I looked at myself in the mirror of the car flap. My shiny pink hair was really long. Almost at my waist. I'd have to cut that later. I looked at my green eyes. _Emeralds. He called them._

* * *

I sighed when I got to school, I was very early. The school was practically empty. I made my way to the front office, the school was pretty small for a rich school. Well I guess that's because this was Japan, not USA. The office lady greeted me nicely and the principal actually came to welcome me. She looked like she was only 30 years old or something. She had blonde hair tied in two pig tails and the size of her boobs were very noticeable. "Ohayoo Sakura, welcome to Konoha High. I'm your principal Tsunade and I hope you have a good time staying here in Japan. You're a bit early but I guess that means you can explore around the school a bit. Don't forget that today we have assembly first before roll call, okay? Have a good day." I gave her my thank you's and the office lady gave me my schedule.

HARUNO, SAKURA. ROLL CALL- R3. ROOM 208.

MONDAY- 1) Chemistry. Shizune. R402

2) English Extension. Ebisu. R307

3) Japanese Literacy. Kakashi. R203

4) History. Asuma. R214

5) Free Period.

6) Maths. Kurenai. R305

TUESDAY- 1) Maths Kurenai. R305

2) Free Period.

3) Geography. Anko. R313

4) Free Period.

5) Legal Studies. Ibiki. R101

6) Japanese Literacy. Kakashi. R203.

WEDNESDAY- 1) History. Asuma. R214

2) Chemistry. Shizune. R402

3) Free Period.

4) Free Period.

5) English Extension. Ebisu. R307

6) Japanese Literacy. Kakashi. R203

THURSDAY- 1) Free Period.

2) Geography. Anko. R313

3) Maths. Kurenai. R305

4) Maths Extension1. Kurenai. R301.

5) Legal Studies. Ibiki. R101.

6) Free Period.

FRIDAY- 1) Japanese Literacy. Kakashi. R203

2) Free Period.

3) Maths Extension 1. Kurenai. R301

4) Chemistry. Shizune. R402.

5) Free Period.

6) English Extension. Ebisu. R307.

I exhaled heavily after briefly looking at my schedule. I sort of regretted taking Maths Extension. Oh well. And did I really need to improve my English? I'm living in Japan now. Whatever. Today was Tuesday, great, Maths to start off the year, ew. I glanced at the map that was also given to me. Well the grand hall was a few blocks away so I might as well take my time getting there.

There were a couple of seniors here already, I guess they were taking extension classes or something. When I did get to the hall, I decided to take a seat outside it and chill out into my ipod. I don't think I am sleepy, I get a lot of sleep being at home alone. No parties, no clubbing. I really need to socialize now. I haven't been checking my email because I was dreading the FAQs from my friends about me leaving. I'll probably have to do that tonight.

Well, Konoha High is a school for rich kids who are children of the owners of the big Japanese companies. Konoha's population is actually all rich people. I hope these rich kids know how to party like my American friends. I leaned back into my seat and closed my eyes. I never realised how peaceful it was here.

"_You can open your eyes now."_

"…_! SAII-KUUNN!!! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE!!!"_

_My arms wrapped around his form and I laughed from excitement._

"_Ahah. It's nothing. I thought you might want a relaxing birthday this year."_

"_I LOVE YOU!"_

_I could hear him smile as he hugged me tighter and whispered into my ear, "Happy birthday Sakura. Now do you want to get on the cruise?"_

"Ano……….Are you okay?"

I jumped up shocked and heard my ipod fall to the ground. I was staring into bright cerulean eyes. They weren't onyx black ones I had expected. Wait a minute, why would I be expecting Sai? I looked at the person in front of me blankly. He was a boy, probably in my grade, and had blond hair and a curious look on his face. His eyes were really distinct.

He spoke before I could, in a really excited voice. "I haven't seen you before. Are you new?"

"Uhh, yeah I just moved from America. My name's Haruno Sakura."

"OHHHH! Haruno! Whoa, from America? That's far. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you Sakura-chan!" He held his hand out.

I shook hands with him forcing a smile; I wasn't in a joyful mood after that random flashback. "Nice to meet you too, Uzumaki-san."

He raised an eyebrow. "Sakura-chan, don't worry about being polite, just call me Naruto!"

"Um, ok."

He flashed a wide smile and bent down to pick up my abandoned ipod. "So why are you so early to school?"

I took it from him, thanking him. "Um, I didn't know that there was going to be light traffic."

Naruto laughed. "That's so cute! Yeah, I heard there was heaps of traffic in America."

"Mhhm."

"Uh, Sakura-chan, are you always this spaced out?"

"Oh, sorry Naruto. I was just thinking about something." Is it that hard to stop thinking about Sai? I need a distraction. "Um, Naruto, can you show me around the school?"

"Sure!"

Naruto took me around the school as he told me lots of things. He was a very jovial person, and I was pondering if he always called strangers with the suffix 'chan'. What I found interesting was when he started talking about his friends. His best friend is apparently a cold-hearted bastard who is liked by every single girl in the school. Naruto was very funny and made me laugh a lot.

Soon, the school started filling up and then the bell rang, everyone started to head for the grand hall. The school had a very small population. I headed to the front and Naruto offered to sit with me. He didn't mind being away from his friends, they weren't here yet.

"So what do you have first?" He asked.

"Um. Maths. With Kurenai-sensei."

Naruto looked pretty happy. "Same! That's so cool. I'll try to save you a seat next to me!"

I giggled at his enthusiasm and the assembly started.

* * *

_RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG_

Roll call had just ended and now I was heading for maths. I was trying to follow my map but then I didn't realise that Maths was upstairs, so I was a bit late when I reached 305. My teacher wasn't mad though, she realised I was new and greeted me. "Welcome, Haruno-san. Please take a seat somewhere."

I bowed and I looked at the students of the class. There was Naruto waving his arms for me to sit next to a blonde haired girl that was in front of him. I smiled and approached the table. As I came closer, my eyes were staring into obsidian orbs. _Sai._ I silently gasped. I wasn't looking at Sai. This boy's hair was a little bit different. He had spiky raven hair, porcelain skin and eyes like Sai's, hypnotising onyx ones. The boy was giving me an icy stare and I quickly turned to sit down in my seat. Wow, he was really handsome. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to see Naruto smiling brightly at me. "Hi again!"

I returned his hello and took one glance at the boy next to Naruto, our eyes met again and I looked away blushing. It was amazing how much he looked like Sai. Kurenai- sensei continued explaining this year's maths curriculum while I fidgeted with the books and things on my table. I could feel the heat on my cheeks as I imagined the boy behind me staring into my back.

"Ano……..Haruno Sakura right?"

Upon hearing the voice I turned my head to the right to see the blonde-haired girl examining me. She had really pretty blue eyes, silky hair and a welcoming expression. I answered, "Hai. And you are…."

The girl smiled and replied, "I'm Yamanaka Ino, but you can just call me Ino."

"Nice to meet you Ino."

"Pleasure. Um, are you okay? You look really red."

I think my face was reddening even more. _Snap out of it Sakura!_ I laughed nervously, "I'm fine, I think I always look red."

Ino looked puzzled now but shrugged it off and turned to listen to our sensei. Soon, we were given some work to start on already. However, I had a few problems with the data questions. I looked over to Ino and saw that she was biting her pen hard while staring at the problems. Looks like I wasn't the only one.

"Uchiha! What are you doing staring into space?! You should be working!"

_That was uncalled for._ Most of the class turned to look at who Kurenai was glaring at. I followed their lead and suddenly regretted it because I found myself staring into those captivating eyes again. I mentally slapped myself. _Of course! He's Uchiha Sasuke. Son of the owner of Uchiha Inc._

The Uchiha glanced at me icily before glaring at the teacher, "I've finished, Sensei."

_So he has the looks, the money and the brain._ I rolled my eyes. _Just like Sai. _I've had enough of these perfect rich bastards.

* * *

_RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG_

"Sakura-chan! Do you by any chance have Spanish next?!" My new blond hyper-active friend was now by my side smiling. _How is it possible that this guy is actually going to finish school by the end of this year?_

"Uhm. No, I'm not doing Spanish, I'm actually doing English. I have a free now." I replied, looking at my timetable.

"Aww. Teme's doing English too. Well you will come sit with us at recess right?!"

I giggled. _Naruto is just like a primary school kid._ "Sure. If that's okay with your friends."

A voice on the other side of me spoke before Naruto could respond, "Of course it's fine. You seem pretty nice. I have a free now too, we can get to know each other more." It was the girl Ino.

Wow, new friends to sit with on the first day already. We left the classroom together, me walking beside Ino while Naruto was in front of us. To my amazement, 'Teme' was Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto's best friend. They are total opposites! He walked in front of me, his broad back inches away from my face as I conversed with Ino. Things were going pretty well and I was fairly focused in our conversation about my new school when things went downhill. I wasn't concentrating at where I was walking and missed the first step of the small staircase, thus leading to me grabbing onto the closest thing in front of me, which was the Uchiha's shirt.

"AAARGHHH!!"

As I dragged the Uchiha back, my head slammed into his shoulder and we both fell backwards. "Oww," I winced. I was suddenly aware of two eyes glaring at me, which belonged to Sasuke. I was still in a daze and was snapped back into reality when he spoke, "Let go of me."

I gasped, "Uchiha-san, gomen!"

Naruto burst out laughing and I looked up to see Ino looking surprised. I could feel the heat rushing to my face. "Sakura! Are you okay?!" Ino asked while helping me up.

I brushed and fixed my uniform up. "I'm fine."

"Sasuke-teme! That was hilarious! AHAHAHHAHA! Nice job Sakura!" Naruto laughed.

I nervously looked up at Sasuke, and for the billioneeth time today, he was glaring at me. I groaned inwardly, feeling embarrassed, but then I came to realisation. "Look, I'm sorry, it was an **accident.** What's your problem?"

I wasn't sure if that made the situation worse, but Sasuke looked even angrier, if that was possible. _What's with him? Why is he acting so high and mighty? It was an accident, gosh._ My statement made Naruto laugh even more. Bad idea, Naruto, because Sasuke smacked him on the head which shut him up.

Ino spoke first, "Sakura, come on, lets go the library. Naruto, Sasuke, you guys should head off to class as well."

As soon as they were out of sight, Ino giggled. I sighed, "Was it that funny?"

"It was only funny when you spoke."

"I'm confused. I mean really, it was a friggin' accident."

"Yeah, that's what was really funny."

"Huh?!"

Ino explained that every girl that met Sasuke tried to find some way to come in contact with him. She said that she was expecting me to try something as well.

"When you sat down next to me blushing in Maths, I thought, 'she's another one.' I really did believe you were going to be another fangirl when you fell over with him and apologized innocently. But then you opened your mouth again and I changed my mind about you." Ino stopped talking and laughed. I continued walking beside her, gaping, as she started mimicking the "what's your problem?" in a childish voice and laughing.

During our free period, we decided not to do our homework but just chat. I really like Ino, we talked as if we were already good friends.

"Oooooh. America sounds exciting."

"Well, it was I guess. Partying twenty-four seven y'know."

Ino examined me. I raised an eyebrow.

"You don't look the party type. I mean, you don't act like it. Well, maybe I guess it's just your first day."

I laughed quietly. "Well, you have no idea. But, I'm trying to start a new life you know. People change."

"Aww. You will party though won't you?"

I was confused. I wasn't sure how to answer this. I really did want to change. But l like they say, bad habits never die. "Um, well, not sure. It-"

"Ohh PLEASE."

"Why are you-"

"Sakura, promise me to parrtayy with me some time okay?"

I blinked at her and she winked.

"Um, I guess." _She seems keen._

* * *

_RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG_

Ino showed me where the cafeteria was if I wanted any food. Most students just have their own packed lunch.

"So you'll be sitting with us won't you?" Ino asked.

"Um, if that's alright with you."

"OF COURSE IT'S ALRIGHT."

"Well, then sure."

Her group's usual spot was on the school oval under the shade of the trees. While the majority of the school sat inside the cafeteria, some juniors and Ino's group sat outside.

"We like the fresh air and it's more peaceful out here." She explained.

"Ohh." I replied in understanding. "So, how many and who are in your group?"

As if on cue, we looked up to see two girls heading towards us. One girl had dark bluish hair, that was short and straight but the ends stuck out everywhere. She had white pearly eyes and was very pale. The other girl had brown hair tied in two buns and dark chocolate eyes. Ino waved to them with the two girls returning the gesture.

Smiling, Ino said, "Well, there's two of them. The girl with brown hair is Tamura Ten-Ten. The other one is Hyuga Hinata."

I nodded, "ohhh." _Big companies too._

'You've already met Naruto and Sasuke, they're in our group as well."

My face flushed but I recovered quickly when Ten-Ten and Hinata arrived.

"Hi!" Ino greeted them.

"Hey, Ino-chan." Ten-ten sat down.

"H-hello." Hinata stuttered also sitting down.

"Girls, this is Haruno Sakura. She came from America and she's gonna join our group." Ino introduced.

"Oh, hi, nice to meet you! I'm Ten-Ten." She shook my hand.

"N-nice to meet you t-too H-Haruno-san. Watashi w-wa Hinata." Hinata shook my hand nervously.

I smiled, "just call me Sakura, and I'm not sure about joining your group yet, I mean I don't want to be rude or-"

"Well girls, I personally think Sakura-CHAN is quite welcome to our group." Ino said, looking slightly evil.

"Oh?" Ten-Ten and Hinata questioned in synchronisation.

"Sakura certainly showed how worthy she was just an hour ago with a certain **someone**." Ino winked and heat rose to my cheeks again.

"Oooooo. Ino, spill, now." Ten-ten commanded.

Fortunately for me, two boys had arrived at our group. One boy had very long brown hair and white pearly eyes just like Hinata. The other boy had brown eyes and brown hair tied into a ponytail sticking up in the air; sort of like a pineapple.

Again, Ino did the introductions. The white eyes guy was named Hyuga Neji and I wondered if he was related to Hinata. The other boy was named Nara Shikamaru.

The last two people of the group had arrived. As soon as Naruto saw me he bounced over to sit next to me and gave me a hug. I noticed that when he had been near Hinata, she blushed like mad. When Sasuke joined at last, he—you guessed it—glared at me. He was probably angry that I was sitting with his group. For some reason, I felt like pissing him off more so I smiled innocently at him which did the trick.

In this short period of time, I found that I was very welcomed to the group. They all spoke very nicely—well except for Sasuke but he didn't speak at all. In just twenty minutes I learnt about each person's personality. Ten-ten was into sport, mostly soccer. She said that she's aiming to win first in Physical Education this year. Besides her interests, Ten-ten is the type to try her best and not give up. Hinata, right away I knew that she was very shy. Her interests were in cooking and textiles, making clothes. Also, from watching her act, I'm pretty sure that she has a mega crush on Naruto. Ino, is very playful when she's outside and free. At first, from our free period, I thought she was quite mature but I guess I was wrong. She loves to have fun. Her goal right now is to get a career in interior decorating. For the guys, well I already know Naruto, he's hyperactive and spontaneous. He's dream goal is for the Uzumaki name to reach number one, beating the Uchiha Inc in rank but when Naruto told me this, Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sasuke didn't talk at all at recess so I didn't find out much about him except that he was an ice cube. Whenever Neji talked, he had this superior aura around him. I found out that he's head boy and he wants to take the place of the owner of the Hyuga company. Which then I found out that it rightfully belongs to Hinata, surprisingly. Shikamaru didn't talk that much, he just laid beside Ino looking at the sky. I did find out that he is a genius, Ino said that he topped all academic subjects every year, even though he was probably one of the laziest people she's met.

When they asked me if I had any future goals, I didn't know what to say. Lets face it, I'm not the brightest person ever so I didn't have many opportunities ahead for me. "Um, I'm probably gonna go into the Haruno business like my dad." I told them. That was a lie. I had no intentions at all to follow in my dad's footsteps. It was the last thing that I would have done. The Haruno company supplies all of Japan's hospitals with medical goods. Chemistry was not my best subject, even though I do take it. Before I had to go into anymore details, the bell rung. I had geography with Ten-Ten and Ino so we walked together.

When I entered the geography classroom, I got a piece of what Ino called 'fangirls.' I hadn't taken any notice that Sasuke was walking behind us but when we got to the room, most of the girls stood up with their books and headed towards us.

"Hi Sasuke-kun, do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"No, I'm REALLY bad at geography, would you mind sitting with me?"

"I'm the worst in the class, so come sit with me please?"

Ino, Ten-ten and I took our seats and watched as Sasuke had to push his way through the 'fangirls'. I looked at Ino with my eyebrows knitted together. She sighed and shook her head and patted the seat next to her which was next to the window. Sasuke dropped his stuff there and murmured, "thanks" to her.

"No problem, Sasuke. Always here to help." She said.

Ten-Ten was on the other side of me. "You should have seen the fangirls when we were in seventh grade, they used to practically jump on Sasuke."

"My gosh.' I said.

Ten-ten nodded grimacing. "At least they're more mature now, right Sasuke?" She looked over at the end of the desk to him.

"Hn," was all he said.

Ten-ten laughed.

* * *

The day went by pretty quickly, my new friends were great. It was cool that we had so much to talk about for the day to go by. Unfortunately, whenever I saw Sasuke, Sai would pop into my head. I'd float into space but snap out of it when conversation starts up. I really do hope that will go away soon.

At the end of the day, I said bye to everyone as they got picked up by their personal drivers. Only Sasuke and I drove ourselves home. I didn't actually say goodbye to him, I had a feeling he still was pissed at me.

* * *

"Sakura-san! How was your first day?!" Was my greeting from Yoko as I walked through the door.

"It was great."

"Did you make friends?"

"Yes. Yoko, please stop treating me like a child."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Anyways, would you like afternoon tea?"

"No thanks."

"Okay, tell me when you're hungry."

"Yoko?"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering. Is there alcohol anywhere in this house?"

"I- err. No, miss, did, did you want some?"

"No. Quite the opposite. I don't want any alcohol in this house. I'm trying to change, remember?"

"Oh. Ok, that's good. Sakura-san, I forgot to mention that your father is expecting a call from you. He would like to talk to you some time this week if that was possible."

_Oh god._ "Umm. I'll try Yoko. I'll call him another day. Just not today. I'm not in the mood to speak to him."

"Alright."

I hurried upstairs to my bedroom and turned on my laptop. I hadn't spoken to my dad in ages. Not even after I left America. I would have imagined him throwing a fit when he found out. I'm surprised he didn't ring right away when I told mum that I made it to Japan. I groaned. _I really don't want to talk to him._

I checked my email and there heaps from my friends in America. All asking why I left and where I was and all that. I began the tedious task of answering all of them.

I was half-way through the emails when I saw that the next one was from Sai. I hesitated. I didn't want to read it. I stared at the screen, reading over and over again, the sender's name and the subject of the email, which was 'Gomen nasai.' I closed my laptop and went over to my drawers where I reached deep inside to pull out a gold charm bracelet. There were seven charms on it so far. _Each representing our most important memories together._

I clenched it inside my fist tightly, making my knuckles go white. I closed my eyes and exhaled. When I opened them again I chucked the bracelet with all my might into the trash can.

"I'm SO over you."

But I knew I was just lying to myself.

* * *

**So did you guys like it? I'm trying to go slowly and not rush things. More of Sakura's past will unveil soon enough. I hope the Australian School stuff isn't confusing. Tell me if it is. **

**Please review. I appreciate constructive criticism. Thanks you guys! I'm hoping to update in two weeks maybe. **

**By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY NETA! For the 4****th**** of January.**

**Please review and thanks for reading. A late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you guys.**

**--UchihaVamprincess--**


End file.
